


You're The One I'm Thankful For

by agirlintheville



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, M/M, Meet the Family, Thanksgiving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-28
Updated: 2015-11-28
Packaged: 2018-05-03 14:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,856
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5294093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlintheville/pseuds/agirlintheville
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Clint rounded the corner, Bruce felt himself grin in relief. They had been video chatting since the holiday break had started, but he had definitely missed seeing Clint every day, hearing his voice sing, jumble, and bounce around him. And nothing compared to seeing Clint rush towards him and feeling the strong arms wrap around him in a tight hug. He breathed in the scent of sunshine, grass, and sweat. Bruce forgot his nervousness, forgot about Clint's family, and closed his eyes, losing himself in this perfect moment.</p><p>He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was probably a few minutes before he heard a slight cough and Barney saying, "I dunno, Kim. He looks too sensible. Are we sure he's here for Clint?"</p><p>~A sweet little Thanksgiving story</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're The One I'm Thankful For

**Author's Note:**

> Trying to get back into writing, let me know how this reads :)
> 
> Bruce and Clint are in college here and Barney is much older than Clint, like 10 years or so.
> 
> inspired by [this picture](http://unnaturalnoise.tumblr.com/post/134012877185/diamondheroes-mark-ruffalo-by-theo-wenner)

I

"Tulips are good, right? I mean, they're pretty, everyone thinks they're pretty. This...this is a totally appropriate thing to give to my boyfriend's brother who I'm meeting for the first time on Thanksgiving. Right?"

Bruce looked beseechingly at the teenager next to him who was slumped against the bus window.

The kid sighed and looked up from his book. "Seriously, man?" There was the underlying question of  _I moved my bag so you could sit down, and this is what I get?_ to his weary tone.

"Yeah, you're right," Bruce shook his head and leaned back. "I'm sorry. I just...I'm sure they're fine." 

"No, I mean, seriously... _yellow tulips_? You know they mean hopeless love and jealousy?" _  
_

Bruce blinked, "Wait, what?"

"Dude, know your flowers," the kid scoffed and looked back down at his book. 

"Shit. Should I throw them out? I should...but then I'll show up empty handed. But that's okay since Clint said not to bring anything anyway. But I can't show up empty handed to someone's dinner. Especially Thanksgiving. Oh god, I knew I should bought a bottle of wine."

"For real, man? Take a breath!" The kid glared at him. "I'm not gonna save you if you hyperventilate or something. Look, it's not a big deal. No one speaks floral languages anymore anyway."

Bruce stared back at him, trying to calm his breathing, "You do."

The kid rolled his eyes, "Yeah but I'm awesome. Now, excuse me. This is my stop."

Bruce shuffled over so the kid could climb out of the seats. "Oh, okay. Well, thanks for your help."

Hefting his bag on his shoulder, the kid snorted, "You think I helped? Good luck man."

Bruce watched him go and clutched the flowers tightly in his hands. An older woman in front of him turned around slightly. "Don't worry honey, I think they're lovely flowers. Your young man will love them."

He smiled back nervously and stared out the window for the rest of the trip.

 

II

Bruce huddled in his coat and shifted nervously as the chimes of the doorbell faded. The wooden door slowly creaked open and the man on the other side stared at him with an eyebrow raised. "Help you?"

Bruce gaped, "Wow. You look just like him."

The other eyebrow raised. "Sorry?"

"I mean he said you two looked alike but I mean wow. Definitely related. That's..." Bruce broke off when he saw the man take a step back from the door. "Sorry I'm sorry. I'm here for...I mean, Bruce, I'm Bruce. These are for you. I mean, not for you, but you know for you...for uh thank you. For inviting me. To dinner. Today."

Bruce thrust the flowers out towards the man's chest. There was an awful moment where they both just stared at the bundle. Then the man slowly took them from Bruce's hand, and said, "You must belong to Clint. I'm Barney. Come on in."

He stepped back and gestured for Bruce to enter. As he closed the door, Barney yelled out, "Clint! He's here!"

A tall woman with came out of a side entrance, smoothing her long twists. "He's outside, hon. With the boys. Is this him?"

Barney scowled, "They start the game without me?"

She laughed, "No, I think they're just running plays, warming up."

"Good." Wrapping an arm around her waist, he gestured to Bruce. "This is Bruce. He brought me flowers. Bruce, this is my wife, Kim."

"Uh, hi," Bruce stepped forward with his hand stretched out, but Kim ignored it in favor of wrapping her slender brown arms around him in a tight hug. The warm smell of cinnamon and sugar floated from her clothes. He hesitantly hugged her back.

She stepped back and placed her hands on his shoulders. "We're so glad you could make it today. Clint's told us all about you."

"Oh, really? That's, um...I hope it was all true things." 

Both Barney and Kim laughed, and Bruce felt himself slowly relaxing at the easy nature of the sound. She patted his shoulder, replying, "I'm sure they were mostly true. Let's take your coat."

Bruce was shrugging out of his coat when Clint's voice floated down the hallway towards them. "Hey, Barn, you coming or you scared that we'll beat you this year?"

As Clint rounded the corner, Bruce felt himself grin in relief. They had been video chatting since the holiday break had started, but he had definitely missed seeing Clint every day, hearing his voice sing, jumble, and bounce around him. And nothing compared to seeing Clint rush towards him and feeling the strong arms wrap around him in a tight hug. He breathed in the scent of sunshine, grass, and sweat. Bruce forgot his nervousness, forgot about Clint's family, and closed his eyes, losing himself in this perfect moment.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was probably a few minutes before he heard a slight cough and Barney saying, "I dunno, Kim. He looks too sensible. Are we sure he's here for Clint?"

Remembering where he was, Bruce opened his eyes and tried to shift out of Clint's embrace. Clint tightened his grip, while firing back at his brother, "Hey asshole, shut up. I can date sensible guys." 

"Sure you can. Just never have."

"Shut up!"

"Boys, come on. Don't be rude, take it outside." Kim plucked the flowers out of Barney's hand and sniffed them. "Thank you, Bruce. For the flowers and for coming. Dinner will be ready in about an hour." Humming softly, she headed back towards the kitchen, where smells of the pumpkin, turkey, and cranberry reigned supreme. 

Barney smiled after her, and then returned his attention to Bruce. "So Bruce. You play ball?"

 

III 

"Okay here's the final play. Will, you're gonna go up the middle and tackle your dad. Bruce, you're gonna go left and try to zigzag around Thomas. Alright, go team!

When the ball snapped, Bruce dashed left and tried to side step the eight year old coming at him. Meanwhile Will immediately dashed to Barney, but the six year old was yanked up by his feet and held dangling while his father came after Bruce. Distracted, Bruce felt Thomas grab him knees and he went down. Thomas immediately leaped on top of him.

"Get him boys!" Barney shouted, letting Will down. With a pained grunt, Bruce was swamped under the combined weight of Will and Thomas, both yelling their victory.

"E tu, Will?" Bruce gasped, trying and failing to get his feet. 

"I'll save you, Bruce!" Blinking as the small weights on him were lifted, Bruce watched as Clint held both boys under his arms and spun them around. Then Barney came in for a low dive and all the Barton boys went down in a pile of giggles and shouts.

"Monsters! Fiends! I call foul!"

"Boys!" Bruce turned his head to see Kim standing at the back door, waving at them. "Dinner's ready!"

The kids immediately popped up and ran to the door. Barney got up a slower pace and hauled Clint up with him. Then he stepped over to Bruce to give him a hand up. "Good game, man." He slapped Bruce firmly on the back and headed towards the door after his sons.

Bruce glanced at Clint who stood grinning at him. "I told you he'd love you."

 

 IV

Bruce found himself squeezed in next Clint at the small dinner table. The table looked like it was going to  buckle under the amount of food currently placed on it. There was also an additional side table with even more side dishes and appetizers. "Are we expecting more people?"

"Nope, Kim just does holidays right. And it's all seriously delicious."

"And finally, the stuffing," Kim said, placing another bowl on the table. Barney followed, bringing in the carved turkey. They both took their seats and fussed over their sons. While wrestling with Will's napkin, Kim glanced at Bruce and said, "Thank you for the flowers. Yellow tulips, what a great choice for today."

Bruce looked up quickly, "Really?"

"Oh yes, they symbolize cheerful thoughts. Perfect for a family get together. Now..." with a final tug, she got Will settled, "could you pass the potatoes?"

"Yeah, sure, of course." Bruce handed them to her and accepted the sweet potato casserole from Clint. For a few minutes, all that was heard was the clink of utensils and the murmured sounds of food requests.

As the final dishes were passed around, Barney stood up and cleared his throat, "Okay. Here we go. Thanksgiving, everyone."

Bruce smiled and shook his head as the Barton family cheered. Barney grinned and continued, "Alright, alright. Settle down, it's tradition time. Bruce, don't know if you've been warned or not, but we do a little something before we eat. We're not big on prayers, though you're welcome to if you'd like. What we do like to is go around, say what we're thankful for this year. Can be anything, really. What matters is that you take the time to acknowledge something good in your life."

Kim rubbed Barney's arm, and added, "We've spent a lot of years angry and taking things for granted. Individually, and as a family." Out of the corner of his eye, Bruce saw Clint nodding solemnly. "This reminds us that even in the worst of times, there's something that we can feel happy and grateful towards. Barney, will you start us off?"

"Sure thing, love. This Thanksgiving, I am forever grateful that you are in my life," he paused and leaned over to kiss her forehead, "and that my boys are growing up healthy and strong enough to take on their Uncle Clint."

Clint stuck out his tongue at the kids as they cheered their father's words. Kim chuckled, "Thank you, hon. This Thanksgiving, I am grateful that I have my family here with me and that we have Clint's handsome boyfriend eating with us tonight."

Bruce blushed as Clint whistled his agreement and Barney rolled his eyes. He absently listened to the boys proclaim their thankfulness for food and books, while he tried to think of what he was going to say. What was he thankful for? He had spent most of his life driving forward, nose to the grindstone, trying to rise above where he had come from, so maybe he was thankful for the opportunities he had received. That seemed somehow rote and practiced, not suited for this warm family atmosphere that he found himself in.

"Well, I am very thankful this year," Clint leaned back in his chair and grinned at everyone. "The scholarship money came through, I've got an amazing guy, and an incredible family. What more could a guy ask for?"

"Bruce?"

He blinked as everyone's eyes focused on him. "Um."

Clint brushed his arm. Softly, he said, "You don't have to, Bruce. It's okay."

"No, no it's fine. I, uh." Bruce cleared his throat. Taking a deep breath, he looked around the table at everyone's encouraging smiles. "I am thankful for...this. Being here. With you all. With family. I, uh, don't have much family. And you've taken me in today, and treated me like your own. And that's, that's more than I, uh," he broke off and cleared his throat again. He looked at Clint beside him who smiled gently. "You. I'm thankful for you. You brought me here, and this is so amazing, and...thank you."

Clint leaned in to kiss him fiercely. Bruce kissed him back, ignoring the groans and laughs from around the table. Finally, he moved back as Kim said, "Alright, alright, food's getting cold. Everyone eat up!"

As they started to eat, he felt Clint press up tight against his side. They stayed like that for the rest of the meal.

 

 V

Bruce looked out at the back yard as he took a drag from his cigarette. The temperature had dropped swiftly, and he shivered slightly in his coat. He looked around as he heard the back door open.

"Hey, Clint said you were out here. Got a light?" Barney closed the door behind him, before moving to sit on the stairs next to Bruce. Silently, Bruce passed him the lighter and watched as the light flared across the other man's face.

"Surprised you smoke," Barney mumbled as he flicked the lighter closed.

"Yeah. Clint hates it. Keeps trying to get me to quit."

"Hm. Kim hates it too. They'll bond over it."

They smoked in silence for a bit, with Bruce becoming more and more nervous. This was the part in all meet the family movies where he was threatened with physical violence and a slow death if he did anything to mess his relationship. He didn't know if he should pretend that it wasn't coming or try to brazen it out.

He took a deep breath and said "I'm not, uh, I'm not gonna hurt him."

Barney rolled his head to look at him. "Hurt who?"

"Clint. I'm not gonna hurt him. If you're worried about that."

"Wasn't worried. Clint's a big boy."

"Oh, okay." There was a brief pause, then Bruce asked, confused, "So you're not going to shovel talk me?"

"Shovel what?"

"Shovel talk. It's where you threaten to get to rid of me quickly and silently if I hurt Clint in anyway."

Barney tilted his head back, and laughed. "Naw, I'm not gonna do that."

"Oh, okay. Well, that's good."

With his eyes still on the stars above them, Barney said, "You know when I met Kim's dad, I thought he was gonna do the same thing. Pull a shotgun on me and threaten my life. So I tried to get ahead of it. I told him that I really loved Kim, that I knew interracial relationships were difficult, and I was going to work harder at this than anything I ever had before." He paused to take a drag from his cigarette.

"Her dad nodded and said, that's real good, but he wasn't too worried about it. I asked him what he meant. He looked dead in my eyes, and I'll never forget it, he said, Kim is my daughter. I raised her. I taught her how to shoot, how to a gut and skin an animal, how to punch, and the easiest places to hurt a man. Most importantly I taught her that our door is always open to her. I'm not worried that you're going to mess this up. I'm more worried _for_ you if you mess this up."

Barney dragged his eyes to meet Bruce's. "Clint's my brother. We've been through shit situations together, and heaven knows life hasn't always been kind to him. He's in a great place now and I think he wants to keep it that way. He's not going to let anything mess that up. If he says, you're good, then I believe him. You're good. And if you're not, he'll deal with you his own way. Of course, that doesn't mean that I won't help him hide your body. If it comes to that."

He stubbed out the rest of his cigarette on the steps and stood, dusting off his pants. "This was a good talk." He clapped Bruce on the shoulder and went back inside. Bruce stared after him, his forgotten cigarette dangling from his fingers. He dropped it and absently smashed it under his foot, while he thought about Barney's words. Then chucking, he went inside to rejoin the warmth and laughter.

 

VI

"You had fun, right? It was a good time?"

Bruce propped his computer on a pillow as he snuggled into his blankets. He smiled at Clint on the screen, "Yeah I did. I really enjoyed myself. Your family's great."

"I told you, didn't I," Clint grinned smugly. "Yeah, Barney changed so much when he met Kim and the kids were born."

"Yeah, he really cares about you. They all do."

Clint's grin faltered a little as he blushed, "They care about you too now. They want you back for Christmas."

"That'll be fun. I could hop on the bus again, even spend a few days instead a few hours."

"Yeah! Oh, and at Christmas, we play a friendly game of hockey instead of football. It's good times." 

Bruce grimaced, "Maybe I'll just watch that one."

Clint laughed softly. The pause stretched out into silence as they watched each other. Clint spoke again, "I gotta help Kim put the kids to bed since Barney is cleaning up downstairs. You'll still be up in a couple of hours?"

"I'm always up for you." Bruce flushed as Clint started to laugh again. "God. You know what I meant."

Clint leered at him, "I sure did, baby."

"Stop it." Bruce smiled helplessly as Clint continued to laugh.

"Yeah, 'kay. I'll call back in a bit."

"Okay."

"Oh, Bruce? Happy Thanksgiving."

"Happy Thanksgiving, Clint." Bruce stared at the screen as Clint's grinning face disappeared. Sighing, he set an alarm to wake him in two hours and settled back in his bed. It had been a very happy Thanksgiving.

**Author's Note:**

> Come hang with me on [tumblr](http://unnaturalnoise.tumblr.com) and leave me prompts!


End file.
